National Day of Prayer acknowledged at Mandeville City Hall

National Day of Prayer was acknowledged locally on May 6 at Mandeville City Hall, with a respectable gathering of supporters and inspirational words offered by local speakers.

The balmy day was perfect for gathering on the front porch of City Hall. GregTepper from Mary, Queen of Peace Church in Mandeville was in charge of the arrangements. He offered his appreciation and thanks to MarlainePeachey and City Hall for their assistance and then introduced Mayor DonaldVillere.

Villere opened his remarks with a quote from the Book of Nahum: "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."

Villere spoke of the community we live in, that is blessed with a wonderful God and with the type of people who live here.

"They make this a welcoming community," he said.

Next to take the podium was Indy Nebeker. Nebeker is an inspirational speaker well known throughout the area. He spoke of forgiveness, using the negative rope to illustrate. "When we tug on the ends of the rope, we get farther apart," Nebeker said. "We can’t forgive by ourselves. We can let go of the negative rope and move closer to each other."

The inspirational speaker also told stories from his own life to illustrate what happens when we choose to forgive rather than hold on to anger and grief.

The Rev. DougArmand from Church of the King was the final speaker at the noon gathering. Armand quoted from Thomas Payne, "These are the times that try men’s souls."

Payne wrote of the darkest days endured by the fighting men during the American Revolution. People wondered if could it ever be any worse. Through the years, Armand said, presidents, starting with John Adams and down through Lincoln, Roosevelt and nearly all of those august men have urged that the people pray when things were bad.

"This," he said, "is the National Day of Prayer. It’s 364 days until the next one." Armand also said, "Freedom is not cheap. Redemption is not cheap. It requires sacrifice. We the people need to pray."

National Day of Prayer has been observed in Mandeville for a number of years. Nationally, it has been a fixture for 58 years when then President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming observation of a National Day of Prayer.